German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the Hungarian law that restricts the dissemination of information about homosexuality and gender reassignment among minors erroneous. The Hungarian authorities in June passed a law restricting the distribution of materials to minors about homosexuality and gender reassignment.
“I consider this law to be erroneous, and it is incompatible with my view of politics. When, on the one hand, same-sex civil partnerships are possible, but the dissemination of information about this on the other hand is limited. This has an effect on freedom of education and similar things”, – Merkel said, speaking in the Bundestag.
Earlier, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called the amendments adopted by the Hungarian parliament “a shame” and promised to send a claim to the Hungarian authorities. Von der Leyen added that the EU intends to send a letter to Budapest to express their concerns “at the legal level” before the entry into force of the law that “discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation”.
Thirteen EU states on Tuesday issued a joint statement calling the amendments adopted by the Hungarian parliament discriminatory against LGBT people and called on the European Commission to intervene. The authors of the document indicated that we are talking about amendments to a series of laws, including laws on education, media, advertising, protection of children and families. They specifically prohibit the dissemination and promotion of information about gender reassignment or homosexuality among persons under the age of 18.
The EU group called on the European Commission to use the tools at its disposal to fully guarantee the observance of European law, including through an appeal to the European Union court. The document was supported, in particular, by Belgium Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden and Spain.
The Hungarian authorities, for their part, assure that the amendments are aimed at protecting children. In their opinion, before the age of 18, such issues should be discussed with parents. The Hungarian authorities insist that the amendments do not affect the rights and issues of sexual orientation of adults.